Conifer taken down for funding bid

A large Conifer tree outside Chorley’s Astley Hall has been taken down after an agreement was reached with a woman whose father’s ashes are buried at its base.

When Chorley Council announced it was to cut down the conifer residents took to Facebook to voice their dismay. One woman said that the tree was a memorial for her father. The council has now agreed with the family that it will put a bench where the tree stood.

The borough’s authority says the tree was in ‘the wrong place at the wrong time‘. It is preparing for a Heritage Lottery Fund bid. The front of the Grade I listed building is in need of urgent repair and owners Chorley Council will be seeking up to £2m to help restore the Hall to its former glory.

Councillor Alistair Bradley, leader of Chorley Council, said: “When considering improvements to the front of the Hall we have to be mindful of what is set out in the conservation plan and the tree was not in keeping with the front of the Hall or the period of the Hall and is not indigenous to the park.”